Doctor Who: Ever After
by Robert H. Gordon Jr
Summary: There's something wrong with the weather. It's warm one minute then freezing the next. There's something wrong with the power. Blackouts plaguing London. Theories abound but none of them good. A scientist from UNIT might have the answers but he's going to need a little help from a madman in a box... Featuring original characters and a few surprises! Enjoy and review!
1. T

**T**

The chirping of the alarm shattered the morning stillness. Shaken from a dream he could not recall, the sleepy man reached out and silenced the incessant prompt before rolling out of bed. Shuffling to the window he threw back the curtains on a bright, shining morning. He squinted at it, allowing his sleep-addled eyes time to focus. Checking the clock he saw that the readout was blinking. They had lost power last night and he needed to get moving.

From there it was a quick shower. Afterward he shaved, careful to get his black moustache and goatee with its patch of grey just right. He paid equal attention to his hair, spiking it just the way his wife liked it. From there he whizzed through his wardrobe settling on his classic blue suit and red t-shirt along with casual canvas sneakers. Checking his watch he saw that he had not been quick enough and that he was running late.

Rushing down the steps he bypassed the kitchen where his wife was cooking breakfast and shrugged into a parka. "Lost power again last night. I'm off. Sorry about breakfast."

"I saw. Don't worry, I left you a bag by the door," his wife replied.

He found a folded paper sack and tossed it up into the air before snatching it as it fell. "I'll call later."

"Don't forget we've got that thing tonight."

He winced, having forgotten but nodding anyway. "Yes, yes, I remembered." He opened the front door.

"Drive safe, love you."

"Love you too," he said around a pastry he'd stuffed into his mouth.

Outside, he rushed down the steps of his home in the south of London and climbed into his blue MINI. His neighborhood was just waking up, joggers making their way down the sidewalks avoiding people walking their dogs. Children loaded for school were on their way to the nearby bus stop. He pulled away, driving quickly and hoping against hope that he could still beat the morning traffic.

As he drove, he noticed that all of the cars and streets were wet. It must have rained at some point in the night. There had been no forecast of rain. The news on the radio was discussing the surprise storm and the recent rolling blackouts that had been plaguing the city. Public works were baffled but assured the public that they had the situation under control. He frowned slightly and looked up at the benign-appearing clouds in the sky.

Twenty minutes later, and two minutes ahead of schedule due to some illegal driving, he arrived at a large brick building in the heart of the city. Stopping at a guard shack he showed his credentials to an armed guard in black combat fatigues. The guard scanned his card and handed it back. "Good morning sir."

"Good morning Charles, how's the family?"

"Doing great, Shellie's due any day now," Charles said.

"Whatcha hoping for this time?"

"Healthy," Charles said. "Once we've covered that everything will fall into place."

"Good man. Have a quiet shift."

"Hope so, although I think I'm gonna regret not bringing my rain gear today," Charles said gesturing at the sky with his chin. "Looks like a right nasty storm brewing there."

He turned toward the sky and saw that the light fluffy clouds had turned numerous and ominous. "Were we supposed to get rain today?"

"Not a drop," Charles said. "Forecast was for seasonal temperatures and clear skies. Thought I might take the kids to the park after work. I tell you I should've been a weather man. All the glitz and glamour and I only need to be right half the time."

He laughed, "Then what would we do?"

"Oh UNIT would get on just fine without me, sir," Charles said.

"Yeah well the place would fall apart without me, I'd best be going," he said. He pulled into a garage. Driving through a strangely-lit corridor, his car was scanned multiple times for various threats before he parked it in its usual place next to the elevator.

After taking it down several levels he made his way to his office, walking through a door small enough for him to have to duck slightly and entering a large domed space beyond. The wall was lined with shelves and tables containing various scientific objects and experiments in different states of completion. There was a catwalk ten feet off the floor accessed by a winding staircase that led to a large bookshelf that was bursting with texts. His primary workspace was in the center, a collection of six large computers arranged in a circle, each with its own project in progress. A high table was placed in the center and was decorated with pictures of his family. Outside, the station hustled and bustled as the members of the scientific research and development aspect of UNIT went about their day. Inside the room was as quiet as a tomb.

He took off his parka and hung it on a free-standing coat rack near the door before heading to his "desk"; his mind on the strange weather and power outages. Walking around his computers he did not see his current projects, but rather the new problem, sensing it was of more importance. Looking at the last two monitors he decided to focus on his current responsibilities but made a mental note to draft a computer model accounting for the meteorological aberrations and attempt to correlate them with the power problem later.

He turned his attention to a drafting table in a corner of the room that held a hunk of charred metal. The torso of a Cyberman, it was a newer model than they had encountered before, sleeker and more streamlined. Command wanted it analyzed and a report drawn up immediately. They always wanted everything immediately.

Picking up his tools he set to work, taking samples and running diagnostics well into mid-morning. The information that came back was predictable and banal. It was nothing they had not seen before. It was the same software in a different case. Even the metallurgical analysis was unremarkable. Several times he found his mind wandering to strange and fantastic places, recalling events that handily trumped the minutiae he was enduring. Each time he would enjoy the internal flights of fancy, just for a bit, before refocusing.

It was three hours later and he was fully engrossed in his work, scowling through glasses with large black frames, that his door opened and a soldier entered the room. "Doctor Smith?" the soldier called. When he got no answer he cleared his throat. "Excuse me I'm looking for Doctor John Smith?" A few moments passed, "Sir, are you the doctor?"

Doctor John Smith, officially born in Liverpool and raised near Oxford but, actually, forged in a biological human-Time Lord Meta-crisis in another universe, spun around in his chair and smiled at the soldier. "Yes, I'm the Doctor."


	2. A

**A**

Doctor Smith smiled again. "What can I do for you?"

"Orders from Command," the soldier said crossing the room. He handed Doctor Smith a piece of paper. "You are to drop what you're doing and focus on a new potential threat."

John scowled as he read the page, "The weather?"

"And the power outages sir," the soldier said. He had to sidestep to avoid being bowled over as the doctor leaped from his chair and ran towards his bank of computers.

"A tornado ripped across Salisbury plain," John said. He input the information into one computer and started mapping projections and performing equations before running to another part of the room. He dug inside a large bin, grabbed a backpack and began loading it with equipment. Stopping at his computer he plotted the time of the tornado and found that it was close to the last blackout. "The times match!" he exclaimed. "I'll need readings from the scene."

The soldier watched the scientist run around the large room assembling everything he would need. The fighting man held up a hand to try and stall the furious activity but could not do so until the other man was standing in front of him, a mad gleam in his eye. "Uh… I'm sorry sir. You're not going into the field."

John frowned. "Oi, what'd you mean? I have to."

"It's just that Cooper and Kale are already on their way," the soldier said. "Yours is to analyze what they find."

"Cooper and Kale," John spat.

"I'm sorry sir," the soldier said. He shrugged. "The price of being the best mind, I think. They don't want to risk losing you." He snapped to attention before turning and heading out of the room, leaving John standing with all of his equipment in his arms.

**Ever After**

Sometime later, John was walking along the river with lunch in hand. Cooper and Kale were due to arrive at Salisbury. They would transmit their findings back to UNIT who would then forward the data to him for analysis. It would likely contain nothing of real value and he would be left solving the puzzle with missing pieces. Such was his life but it was not always like that.

Buried in his mind was over nine hundred years of adventures traveling through time and space and playing a pivotal role in the lives of countless beings on countless worlds. Taking a seat he looked out over the water at Parliament but saw into his own mind. There had been so many places, faces, friends, enemies, laughter, love, and running, so much running. That was then.

Now his life was mortgage, wife, kids, job, bills and responsibility. When UNIT was formed he had been heavily recruited. He had agreed, lured by promises of making a difference in the lives of the people of this world and helping this version of the human race progress into the future. He had envisioned a life taking on the new unknown of his adopted universe. Instead they locked him away in his closet to tinker and scan what others brought back. He was a custodian; a glorified caretaker, cursed to bear witness to the adventures of others while never being included.

His wife was more than satisfied with his station. "You have one life now," she'd say, "gotta be careful."

His pocket chirped and buzzed. He reached inside and took out his mobile. A picture of his wife all smiles, blonde hair and sparkling baby blues, took up the entire screen. He took a moment to admire the image before answering the call. "Hello."

"Hey you, just checking in, how goes it then?"

"New project," John said. "They want me to looking into the recent weather glitches and the blackouts since a tornado tore up Salisbury plain. They sent Cooper and Kale to take readings, so I'm having lunch and waiting for them to get back to me."

"Bet you didn't take that too well," she said.

"Not really," John replied.

"You'll get your chance, love," she said.

"Bet you won't take that too well," John said.

"Not really," she mimicked. "But it will make you happy and that'll be good enough for me."

John smiled. "That's why I love you Rose Tyler."

"Excuse me; it's been Rose Smith for quite a bit now. I'm a proper married lady," Rose said.

"Well, at least you're married," John chided with a grin.

"Oh you are in for it, Mr. Smith, just you wait 'til you get home."

"Promise?"

"Mmm you bet. Keep up the good work love, bye."

John set his phone down, Rose's picture disappearing to be replaced with the home screen and a picture of her and the kids. Rose was wearing a sundress and kneeling behind their two children in the yard behind their home. He ran a hand over the picture and was reminded, always reminded of what he had surrendered his wandering ways for. Chewing on a turkey sandwich he smiled at the photo.

A cloister bell rang from a bag at his side. Opening a flap, he removed a computer tablet. Activating the screen, lines of data began appearing; Kale and Cooper beginning their investigation. John read the scrolling bits of information unsure of what to make of them. He supposed he could compare them to atmospheric readings in the areas of the weather anomalies. There may be comparable readings and variables. Using an air card, he accessed the internet and hacked into Britain's weather satellites. Smiling at his cleverness he compared the data from Salisbury to past events and found small but definite similarities.

Abnormal weather was popping up all over the UK with answering events elsewhere around the world. The atmospheric readings before the events were normal one moment and then completely haywire the next. It was like going from sunny and mild to windy and freezing or conjuring a hurricane over solid land. John looked up as he finished his sandwich and checked the sky. Not a cloud for miles, the day warm and perfect. He looked down at the information and went back to Cooper and Kale's findings. In Salisbury there seemed to be a spike in atmospheric ionization just prior to the tornado. John checked the information on last night's blackout and found that the outage occurred within minutes of the increase in atmospheric ionization. Chewing his sandwich while his mind worked through the possibilities, he noticed the area around him beginning to darken.

Looking up he saw the sky filling with dark heavy clouds that formed before his eyes. There was no wind but then there was, coming from everywhere. The clouds appeared oblivious to it roiling in place, unmoving. John frowned at the spectacle and went to stand but was driven back by something bouncing off his forehead. Looking in the grass nearby, he found the object. It was a marble-sized chunk of ice.

"Hail?" he said with a frown.

Then more pellets fell. The air was filled with the sound of falling ice clattering off the pavement, splashing into the river and pattering through the trees. Quickly stowing his tablet, he used his bag to cover his head while he ran down the path seeking shelter. As he went the size of the hailstones grew larger; from marbles to the size of large stones, then golf balls, then baseballs.

Coming to a traffic intersection he saw cars on the streets with fractured windshields skidding on the shattered ice. The wind gusted suddenly and storefronts began taking damage. John saw cowering people on the street diving inside wherever they could. There was a shop a good distance away. Much closer was an enclosed public telephone. Dialing the office on his cell he started running.

"This is Doctor John Smith calling in an alert! There is a severe weather disturbance over London! I'm a short distance from base but am seeking cover until it passes! I need someone to go into my office and begin monitoring atmospheric readings immediately!" He reached the booth and found a sign on the door indicating that the phone was out of order. He ignored it and yanked open the door. "It's not that difficult to use the console, just type in the command and hit 'enter'." He snorted in frustration. "Type in 'monitor atmospheric readings over London the UK' and press 'enter'!" He hung up, biting back a swear.

His mind immediately shifted to Rose and the kids. He tried calling but the only got voicemail. "Rose, call me back as soon as you get this. It's happening again! Don't try my cell, the lines will be rubbish. I'm in a phone booth!" Forgetting the sign, he turned to get the number off the landline. "The number is…"

There was no phone. He was not in a booth. He was in a large oval room that was silvery-white. Across from him there were two chairs set side-by-side before arch-shaped consoles. Paths ran the outside of the oval. He could not see any seams in the walls but he knew there were doors that would lead to different areas of the ship. He had been inside one of these once, a very long time ago. With a hiss, a portion of the wall irised open allowing voices to emerge from a corridor.

"I allowed you to land inside my ship. That does not mean you land in my quarters."

"I needed a place large enough to land and that was the first place I could find."

"That's rubbish you fly a _TARDIS _it can land anywhere!"

John watched a large dark man with short black hair and goatee; dressed in the disheveled uniform of a Gallifreyan soldier minus the waistcoat and forearm wraps, emerge from the doorway followed by a younger-looking man wearing dark slacks, dress boots, a purple waistcoat with matching jacket and a bowtie. He took a step back, his mind filling with questions. Their argument continued.

"I rearranged the control room to give you enough space to put that thing in here," the dark one said. "You could've waited patiently but that's not what you do is it?"

"All right, it was rude, but that is completely ignoring who I found in your quarters," the light one countered. "I did not leave her with you for… for… _that_."

A young blonde woman wrapped in a sheet burst into the room her bright blue eyes full of indignation. "We've been traveling together for over thirty years. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Bowtie turned away covering his eyes, "I will not talk to you until you are properly dressed."

"For someone so old you can be completely childish, _Dad_." the woman said.

"What?" John exclaimed, earning the attention of the trio.

The argument stopped, forgotten.

"Um…" the light one said pointing slowly, "how?"

"I turned off the security protocols so you could land," the dark one explained a frown forming on his face. "He must've wandered in."

"What?" John said, frowning in confusion and disbelief.

The woman frowned. "He looks just like you did, Dad. Wait, is he you?"

The light one slowly shook his head, "Not me. Love the goatee, though, should've done that."

"What?"

"Oh wait, this is the biological meta-crisis you talked about," the dark one said.

"What?"

The light one took a step forward, holding out a placating hand. "Okay a recap; I'm the Doctor and, as you can see, you've wandered onto a military TARDIS belonging to the Executor. He and I have been investigating trans-universal anomalies that we've tracked back here. The conflagration you just witnessed was caused by my finding out that he has been having a romantic relationship with the Samaritan whom you will remember as our progenitized daughter Jenny."

"'Progenitized' is not a word," said the Samaritan as she pulled her sheet tighter around herself.

"Yes it is," assured the Doctor out of the corner of his mouth. To John he said, "Any questions?"

John stared the Doctor square in the eye, "What?!"

**Ever After**

It was later, when things had calmed down that the group of Time Lords and one Human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis were inside a sitting room aboard the Executor's TARDIS. The room was still silvery-white though the lights were lower giving the space a more lived-in feel. The furniture was soft and plush and there was white carpet on the floor. The Samaritan had exchanged her sheet for a pair of bronze-colored pants, brown leather boots, and a shirt that matched her trousers. At present the Lords of Time were having tea.

"I'm sorry but could the two of you separate?" the Doctor asked gesturing to the Executor and the Samaritan.

"Keep it up and I'll sit on him," the Samaritan countered, snuggling against the Executor on the loveseat they shared.

"I can't believe you resurrected the Executor," John said. "I distinctly remember that being one of the last things I would consider doing."

The Doctor nodded, "Right up there with trying kiwi and running through Skaro naked. Things change. I needed him."

"And letting Jenny go with him?" John asked. "What was the rationale behind that?"

"Dad," the Samaritan sighed, frustrated, "_Dads_ stop it."

"He's dangerous," John pressed.

"Oh and you're not?" the Executor countered.

"He's changed," the Samaritan said. "He's not the same man as when I met him much less when you did."

"He has improved," the Doctor agreed.

John stared at the Doctor, "_Improved_?" He made a sarcastic face. "Oh well that's all right then." He took a breath. "Never mind all that, you mentioned trans-universal anomalies?"

"There are weak spots in the fabric of the reality," the Doctor said as he set down his teacup. "Like scars. I thought they were left over from when I had to reboot the universe." He saw the frown on John's face. "It's a long story. Anyway they're not. They're something new and they originate here."

"We've been experiencing atmospheric disturbances," John said.

"The planet hasn't moved has it?" asked the Doctor.

"No the constellations match up," John said, "but something is going on." He pointed. "Before I blundered in here there were huge hailstones pelting everything. The storm came from nowhere. I've been running weather models, tracking pressure systems, nothing adds up. There have also been rolling blackouts that seem to correlate. I have an algorithm to compare the phenomenon running on my computers at work but it'll be some time before the numbers come back."

"Work?" asked the Doctor. "What do you do here?"

"I went to work for UNIT," John said ruefully. "I'm the Chief Analyst in the Science and Research Division."

The Doctor grimaced, "Sounds utterly boring."

John nodded, "You have no idea."

"What say we run your algorithm through the TARDIS' computer?" the Doctor asked as he stood.

"That would speed things up nicely," said John, standing with him.

"In the meantime we can take sensor readings over the city," the Samaritan said. "If there are disturbances, maybe we can pinpoint an origin."

"Sounds like a plan," the Doctor said. "Doctor Smith, come with me. Executor, keep your hands to yourself." He rushed out with John close behind.

John followed the Doctor down a corridor and into a large bedroom that resembled a palatial boudoir from the renaissance era. It had dark wood on the walls and a massive canopy bed. The Doctor's TARDIS was at the foot of the bed, the Time Lord passing into the room with one hand shielding his view of the sleeping platform. John followed, his eyes glued to the familiar sight of the blue box.

He passed through the doors and into the TARDIS control room. The Doctor reached the console and flipped a switch turning on all the lights. He spun and spread his arms, presenting his ship to its new occupant. The room was done in a lighter shade of blue with Gallifreyan scrawled on the walls. There were steps leading up to a catwalk and down to a lower level. Lit circles were all over the walls and lights flashed and blinked from seemingly every corner. Directly above the center column, rounded portions of the ceiling turned lazily like the gears of a clock.

John looked around. "You've redecorated." His face screwed up. "I don't like it."

"Everybody's a critic," the Doctor said shaking his head. He turned to the main control panel, "Where to first?"

"My office," John said. "There we can get the data."

The Doctor yanked the control lever and the TARDIS shuddered as it took off. "Geronimo!"

John wrinkled his nose again, "Really?"


	3. R

**R**

A pair of workers going about their daily duties in the dark and dank world of the London underground was at a cable junction inspecting the connections. The blackouts were disrupting the trains in the area. An assessment of the power grid showed that there were periodic fluctuations of power that had no explanation. The technicians stood at the massive fuse box, checking the connections and the individual fuses and finding nothing amiss. They turned to the track itself and the infamous third rail. Aiming a special volt meter at the ominous bar of metal they confirmed that the output was normal. Satisfied, they packed up their tools and headed to the next station.

Had they looked behind the box they would have found an extra length of heavy-duty cable breaching the brick wall and traveling along a hidden corridor. The cable ran almost a half-mile until it arrived inside a massive room that was abuzz with energy. The air in the space was chilled and damp. Water ran down the walls and pooled beneath a grated floor. Despite its expansive space, its sole occupant had little room to move around the gargantuan machine that was his life's work.

The room was a forgotten leftover from John Lumic's Cybrus Industries where his transhumanist machinations dubbed "Cybermen" were created. The space, consisting of several bunker-style rooms had been raided and emptied by UNIT years before. Its current tenant had repurposed it for his own plans. Working at an expansive computer he added more data to his equations and algorithms. He was making progress, his hypothesis inching closer and closer to being proven and his dream realized. Then they would see. Then they would know.

He was Doctor Ansell Oken, a brilliant theoretical physicist and engineer formerly employed by UNIT. His theories and proofs had been instrumental in defeating Lumic's Cybermen but, once the war was over, they had tossed him aside for someone new. Doctor John Smith had breezed in from nowhere and he was ousted without as much as a "thank you". UNIT's arrogance and ignorance would be their undoing.

Oken was a short, squat man with unruly black hair that was rapidly receding from a pale forehead. His face was pinched and squinty and made more so by his large round spectacles with their beaded lanyard. His clothes were dirty and unkempt, his lab coat a dingy shade of gray. He had a habit of muttering incoherently to himself, a habit he was engaged in as he scuttled from his computer to the machine he had dubbed his _magnum opus_.

It was a huge rectangular box that had a phallic-shaped front end that terminated in a satellite dish serving as an emitter. The rear was a tangled mass of cables feeding power to its cobbled-together inner workings. The machine was humming as it powered down from its earlier cycle. The area in front of its emitter appeared to shimmer against the space around it. He was almost there, his efforts finally bearing fruit after so many failures. His sensors had registered energy readings from beyond The Void. He had found the other universe and soon he would break through.

Oken checked the machine's readouts and added his new information into its operating system. The next test would be very interesting; very interesting indeed. As he worked a humanoid metallic machination marched up behind him, its joints hissing with each step and feet clanging off the metal floor. It stopped behind him and brought its fist to the left side of its torso before waiting to be acknowledged.

Oken turned and smiled up at his creation. The machine turned its head to him, its normally black eyes glowing blue. "What word from the front?"

"Cyber Drones seven, nine and twelve report severe atmospheric disturbance at the surface," the machine said in an electronic monotone. "Cyber Drones eleven and sixteen have recorded authorities beginning to investigate. What are your orders?"

Oken waved a hand dismissively. "They can investigate all they want. We are well-shielded here. By the time those fools get even the slightest inkling as to what is going on it will be too late." He paused. "Still, it would be wise to be cautious. Drones seven, nine and twelve are to continue monitoring the effects of the machine while drones eleven and sixteen are to converge on our location and patrol the perimeter with a suitable compliment." He made his way back to the computer while the android stood straight, its eyes flickering as it transferred the orders to the others.

"Orders have been disseminated. Cyber Drones comply."

"Well done, now return to your post." Oken went back to work as the Cyber Drone turned and marched from the room.

**Ever After**

There was a subtle repetitive whooshing noise as the Executor's TARDIS landed, materializing as a door in the side of a dilapidated warehouse. The door opened and he stepped out fully dressed, his waistcoat with its leather mantle and cloth drape hanging down to his knees, and leather wraps on his forearms. The Samaritan followed having added a red motorcycle jacket with Gallifreyan etched into the lapels and left shoulder. Her hair was half-up, a ponytail hanging over a drape of her golden locks.

Both Time Lords were armed with mavericks tucked into holsters at their legs. The chosen tool of the Executor, mavericks were part sonic screwdriver part lethal weapon, the size and length of a common flashlight. The Executor's was a dingy gray with anodized rings toward its leading end and capped with a black emitter. The Samaritan's, being significantly newer, was polished with Gallifreyan symbols and a lattice-like construction around a blue emitter on the end.

The Samaritan drew hers and aimed it around, the device chirping quietly. She examined it after a few moments. "I'm getting readings similar to the disturbances on the other side." She took another scan. "It's strange, like the energy is leaking from something. There are tendrils of it, like smoke."

"Any idea where they're coming from?" asked the Executor.

The Samaritan aimed her maverick off to their left. "Readings are getting stronger this way."

They started off, the slate-colored gravel crunching underfoot. The air was heavy and wet; the sky gray with roiling clouds. They rounded a corner and found a smoking crater sitting in the middle of their path. The divot was deep with a puddle of steaming water at its bottom. It also was not alone.

There were dozens of craters some smoking like the first and others dormant. The Executor drew his maverick and began taking readings. "The entire area is ionized. There are magnetic fields coming off of every piece of metal." He walked over to a portion of a brick wall where the steel reinforcement was jutting through the crumbling stone. Gingerly, he reached out and got a small shock.

"Lightning," the Samaritan said. "An electrical storm happened right here." She scanned the area. "There're stronger readings here." She waved her maverick around in a large circle. "Hang on." She looked at the device and frowned, "Glass."

"What?" the Executor asked.

"It's like glass," the Samaritan said, "shattered glass."

"That means there's a point of impact," the Executor deduced.

The Samaritan nodded. "I'll keep looking." She began walking around slowly scanning. "So do you think he's over it yet?"

The Executor stared at the surrounding buildings. "Who's over what?"

"My dad," the Samaritan said.

"I don't know," the Executor said. "I hope so."

The Samaritan looked up from her work and smiled. "Scared you a bit, did he?"

The Executor chuckled. "You don't know him like I do. He can be extremely frightening."

"Even for you?" she asked.

"Even for me," the Executor agreed. He shook his head. "I don't know. I suppose he'll be better with it once he gets around to trusting me."

"You don't think he trusts you?" the Samaritan asked.

"I wouldn't," the Executor replied.

The Samaritan stopped scanning and walked over. Standing on tiptoe she planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I think what matters, is that _I_ trust you." She turned and walked away. "Don't worry; I won't let him get you."

The Executor chuckled again and followed behind her.

"The readings suggest that the point of impact is underground," the Samaritan said. "We need to find a way down."

"These buildings might have basements," the Executor suggested. He led the way inside a dilapidated factory. Inside was an expansive space crisscrossed with ancient rusted catwalks and ripe with the smell of wet and rot and the sounds of dripping water. The pair of Time Lords searched for a few minutes before finding a metal stair leading down into darkness.

The Samaritan aimed her maverick ahead, the end glowing bright enough to light their path. They were in a narrow tunnel. She looked ahead as best she could but eventually the darkness won out. "This goes about three hundred feet."

"There are cables on the ceiling," the Executor said. He gave them a cursory scan. "They're live. Very live."

The Samaritan scanned the cables as well, "And shielded. Someone does not want these to be found."

They both turned towards the other end of the tunnel. The Executor twirled his maverick, the lower rear half folding down into a pistol grip, the lower forward third folding down into a forward grip, the upper rear half sliding backward slightly, forming a stock of sorts. He aimed it down the tunnel. "Lead the way."

They moved further in, the darkness seeming to fold itself around them. The air grew colder and wetter the deeper they got, their breath coming in clouds. After a few minutes the tunnel opened up into a large space that had small shafts of light coming from above and several tunnels that branched out at differing angles. The cables fanned out as well following all the adjoining paths.

"All right," the Samaritan said, "now, which way do we go?"

"Intruders detected!"

Blue lights blinked into existence. Hydraulics hissed and metal rang out against stone as ten automatons stepped from their hiding places in the walls. They turned on the Executor and the Samaritan aiming their arms with closed fists.

"Scans indicate extraterrestrial species!"

"Cybermen," the Executor said. He eyed the automatons as they advanced. "Let's go." He turned and found their way blocked. "We're cut off." His gaze turned cold. "The hard way it is." He took aim and blasted a hole through the chest of the closest Cyberman.

The Samaritan flicked her maverick and it reconfigured like the Executor's. She blasted the Cyberman closest to her. Behind her, the Executor drew a second maverick from behind his back, twirled it into full weapons mode and added its fire to his other. The Cybermen returned fire, blue bolts of energy streaking towards the Time Lords.

The Executor and Samaritan separated moved around the room in an acrobatic display that seemed to be a melding of dance and demolition. The Executor caromed off a wall into a somersault shooting down three Cybermen as he flew. On landing, he tossed one of his mavericks to the Samaritan who was coming out of a forward roll herself avoiding fire at her back. She caught the weapon and turned, relying on the Executor to catch her with his back as she fired on the machines behind her. When they fell she rolled off her beloved and they switched places, she still firing with two mavericks, he holding his remaining weapon in both hands, the Gallifreyan weapon sending bursts of crackling black destructive energy towards their remaining adversaries.

Sparks flew along with chips of stone as the melee quickly reached a fever-pitch. The light display banished the semi-darkness. The cacophony of combat echoed higher and higher in the manmade cavern. The Cybermen pressed their assault but fell to the wrath of the Time Lords. In the end they were rendered to smoldering sparking scrap.

The pair stood in the space, sweating and panting. Triumphant, they shared a grin before turning back to the carnage. The Samaritan handed the Executor his extra maverick before kneeling next to a destroyed Cyberman.

"You really should get the TARDIS to make you another one," the Executor said twirling it and returning it behind his back.

"That's what I have you for," the Samaritan replied. She scanned the wreckage. "Something's off."

"What?" asked the Executor.

"There's no sign of biology here," the Samaritan said. "Cybermen are supposed to have organic brains but it's completely mechanical." She grabbed the Cyberman's head by one of the rods, she passed her tool over its neck severing it. With a yank she removed the head. "Okay."

"Taking trophies?" the Executor asked.

"No, this is going to Dad," the Samaritan said. She studied the head. "He can tell us just what this is."


	4. D

**D**

Inside John's lab, the Human-Time Lord Meta-crisis and the Time Lord worked at his computer station trying to pin down the atmospheric disturbances and tie them in with the space-time disturbances in the other universe and the blackouts. When they had arrived, the Doctor immediately recognized the design of the room, even noting the smaller entrance which created the illusion that the room was larger on the inside than out. The pair had spent hours moving between the TARDIS and the lab running the larger equations through the more advanced computer but doing the majority of the brainstorming inside John's intellectual sanctum.

"There has to be some level of disturbance on this side," the Doctor said. "The walls between our universes have weakened which is how we were able to get back here. There's also been some leeching of energies which explains why my TARDIS and the Executor's still function."

"Yes, the first time we came here we were almost stuck," John said. He turned from his computer. "I've checked and there have been blackouts before every atmospheric disturbance. That's more than a correlation."

The Doctor thought about it. "Can we trace the losses of power to one area?"

John headed for the TARDIS. "I'll crunch the numbers and see what I come up with."

Staring at his screen, the Doctor turned. "Also test the theory of a planetary shift." He pointed at the screen. "After Davros stole the Earth and we replaced it there were notable atmospheric disturbances for some time."

"The constellations still match up, remember?" John said. His eyebrows rose as he raised a finger, "But even the slightest shift could cause what we've seen. I was only able to get my equations down to a few million miles."

"The TARDIS can test to below the angstrom," the Doctor finished.

John rushed inside the TARDIS and marched around to one of the control panels. He began inputting information, testing the possibility of even the slightest shift in the position of the Earth. He pulled the viewing screen around to face him and moved through the TARDIS' data core to access its computation center. There he found an on-going algorithm being equated. As his numbers were run, he studied it, a frown creasing his face.

"Why would he need to shuttle an entire planet into another universe?" He shrugged it off as one of his calculations was completed. He read the result and sprinted from the TARDIS back into his lab. "It is planetary shift. The Earth is moving. Well, parts of it. Well parts of parts."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.

"It's your leeching effect," John said. "Particles of this universe are moving into yours and taking particles of the Earth with them. Technically the Earth _is_ moving and the atmospheric disturbances are in response."

The Doctor turned back to his screen and began typing furiously, "With that being the case the number of particles crossing should be increasing exponentially."

"Exactly," John said. "So far we've only lost a few atoms, maybe a molecule here and there but it won't be long before we start losing physical objects."

"The space-time disturbances have to have a focal point," the Doctor said. "What do you want to bet that the blackouts are the key?"

"That's a lot of math to work through. It's going to be a long night," John agreed with a smile. He suddenly winced. "Oh, I'm thick! I'm so thick!" He looked at his watch and his wince became a grimace of pain. "Damn it!"

"What?" asked the Doctor, "what is it?"

"I need a lift," John said.

**Ever After**

"All right I want plates in the sink and children getting ready for bed," Rose called as she entered her kitchen. Though dressed in fuzzy pajamas and an apron, her hair up in a haphazard bun, her face was still made up for the recital earlier in the evening. The recital her husband had missed. As she started filling the basin to prep for the incoming dirty dishes she looked at her dormant cell phone. He still had not called.

The rear door suddenly burst open and John hurried inside. Apology was all over his face and his hands were up in surrender. "I know, I know," he said.

"Oh do you?" Rose asked turning and leaning against the counter. "You know? You know how worried I was when all I got from you was a frantic message and then nothing? You know how hard it was for me to keep a brave face when I picked up our panicked children from school and they kept asking about their daddy; whether or not you got caught in the storm? You know how your daughter could barely keep her eyes on her sheet music because she was constantly looking for you in the audience? You know?"

"Rose, listen," John began.

"No, you listen," Rose said. "I understand that your work is important and what happened today is probably the first thing on your desk but you could've bloody called!"

"You're right," John said. "You're absolutely right but something came up; something important."

"More important than your family?" asked Rose, angrier.

"Not more important," John said. He took her by the arms. "Never more important," He stepped aside so that she could view the door leading to their backyard, "but, even you will admit, it is a bit distracting."

Rose turned her gaze from her husband to the garden. Beside her children's swing-set and slide was the box that had changed her life. Everything she was, everything she had, all of it began with that blue box. She past John forgetting her anger, forgetting all the events of the day. She left the house and walked barefoot through the cold wet grass but felt nothing. She saw only the box.

It looked newer not as ramshackle as she remembered. She touched it. It still felt like wood but different somehow. She put her hand on the handle and pushed. The door opened; the creak still there. The inside was different. It was brighter, grander; the blue and the lights, the flowing arches, the circles on the walls, the writing. The console was still in the center and so was he. He was there, standing at the controls, his back to her.

She could tell he was different, lean and tall. His clothing so foreign; dated but somehow still relevant. His hair was not the same. The way he stood, the way he moved, everything was different; different but still the same; still the Doctor.

"Has the dust settled?" he asked in a new voice. "Is it safe?"

"Oh he'll be in the doghouse for some time I think," Rose said.

The Doctor straightened. He spun, his hands held close to his chest, thumbs rubbing against his fingers. There was a moment of awkward silence before he nodded, "Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Smith." He went for a handshake. Rose surprised him with a hug.

"God I've missed you," Rose said into his shoulder. She stepped back and looked him over, "All right, let's see. Like the height. Hair is a bit much, so's the chin." She flicked his collar. "Like the bowtie; grown-up and kid-ish at the same time."

The Doctor smiled, "Don't forget cool."

"Not remotely," Rose said with a grin.

The Doctor laughed. "Okay your turn. You look exactly the same, love the jammies and the apron, but do you always go to bed made up?"

Rose ran a hand over her hair and looked down at her clothes, suddenly self-conscious. "Blimey, I'm not dressed. Um, come in. I'll put the kettle on while John puts the kids to bed. We can catch up." She turned and headed for the door.

The Doctor frowned, "Kids?"

Rose turned and smiled, biting her lower lip, "Yeah, two of 'em."

**Ever After**

Later, the Doctor dropped a lump of sugar into his tea and gave the steaming brew a swirl before taking a sip. He was looking at a picture of the Smiths including their two beaming children. He smiled at the image. "Imagine that. Marriage, a home and a family," he mused. "They're beautiful."

"Thanks," Rose said. "They're a lot like you," she shook her head with a mirthful frown, "or him, or the both of you. Sarah Jane is always getting into trouble."

The Doctor looked up at her. "Sarah Jane?"

Rose smiled, "Yeah, Sarah Jane and Adric."

The Doctor looked down at the picture at the black-haired boy with sporting a mischievous grin, "Adric."

"Yes," John said as he entered the room. He looked to his wife. "They're down for now." He took a seat next to Rose who handed him a cup of tea. "The universe wouldn't be complete without them."

The Doctor smiled, "No, no it would not."

"So there are breaches opening up again?" asked Rose. "Are we in danger like before?"

"Not yet," John answered. "But it won't be like before. It will be worse. The data suggests that we're running out of time."

"Oh," Rose said. "This seems eerily familiar, imminent doom and the Doctor, or _Doctors_. Have either of you a plan?"

"Still working out the specifics," the Doctor said.

"Very familiar," Rose joked as she took a drink.

"There's some information we're waiting for," John said.

"How long d'you think that'll take?" Rose asked.

There was a knock at the back door. John set down his cup and went into the kitchen. He returned with the Executor and the Samaritan in tow. The Doctor stood with a smile. The Samaritan stepped into his arms and gave him a hug.

"Dad, you won't believe what we found," she said.

"Dad?" asked Rose.

The Samaritan looked to John, "And you too, Dad, you need to have a look as well."

Rose gave her husband a surprised and dangerous look, "_Dad_?"

"Looks like you're never getting out of that doghouse," the Doctor joked.

The Doctor and Doctor Smith examined the Executor and the Samaritan's trophy while the Samaritan explained her origins to Rose. The two women bonded almost immediately and began sharing stories of the Doctor from when he was one man and then two. The Executor stood off to the side, looming in a corner and stared at the men poring over the metal head. Rose eyed him up noting the intensity of his scowl.

"So who's that then? He a product of Progenation like you?" she asked.

"No he's good old-fashioned Time Lord," the Samaritan answered. "Dad pulled him out before the fall of Gallifrey and turned him human. He was a warrior then although not the heroic type."

Rose looked to the Samaritan, "But he's better right? He's not like he was?"

"He's getting there," the Samaritan said. "There are times when I see it, the old fire. He tries to hide it but, I've been around him too long."

"And you love him," Rose said. She found the Samaritan staring at her. She shrugged. "Well it's obvious, isn't it? We are capable of seeing all aspects of the people we love, even the scary parts."

"Right so it's not a true Cyberman," the Doctor said.

"No," John agreed. He squinted through his glasses and turned the head on its side. Peering up through its neck he thought he saw something. Reaching into the pocket of his suit he took out a small object the size of a pen. Pressing a button the end lit blue and the device began to buzz.

The Doctor smiled and pointed, "Hey you managed to build a sonic."

John bobbed his head to one side, "Not… really, no." He held up his tool. "It's just a torch."

The Doctor frowned and pointed, "The _fzzz_?"

Rose piped up, "He misses the noise."

The Doctor nodded. He reached into his pocket and drew his sonic screwdriver. "Let me."

John held up a hand, "No, don't need it." His squint turned into a scowl. "I think I know what this is." He picked up the head and shined the light around the inside. "We need to go back to the lab. I've a scanner that can confirm what I'm thinking."

"We can run the diagnostics in the TARDIS," the Doctor said.

"Don't have to," John said. "If it is what I think it is, everything we need will be at UNIT."

"Let's go then," the Executor said finally stirring.

John pulled up. "Oh well, you should uh, you should really hang back."

The Executor arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Well, you… you don't quite fit in," John said. He pointed at the Samaritan. "Jenny would do fine. The jacket might turn some heads but that's it. You look like a soldier of Gallifrey."

"I _am_ a soldier of Gallifrey," the Executor said.

"What my husband is failing at saying," Rose interjected, "is that, on this Earth, anything extraterrestrial sticks out. Lumic, the Cybermen, the reality breaches, all of it had an effect. People are still getting over their fears. Fear makes them vigilant… and dangerous."

"So?" the Executor asked.

"So you need a wardrobe change," Rose said.

"And Professor Bowtie the Antique doesn't?" the Executor asked.

"Oi," the Doctor said, adjusting his tie. "Who are you calling 'antique'? Your clothes are how old?"

"You two go to UNIT and get started," said the Samaritan, ending the debate before it could begin.

"We ladies will help this gentleman soldier find appropriate camouflage," Rose finished.

John swooped in and gave Rose a kiss. "You're the best."

"And don't you forget it," Rose said. She watched her husband run into the garden.

The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder. "We won't be long."

"Hey," Rose said, stopping him. "You gave him to me. Don't take him away."

The Doctor backed toward the garden with a reassuring smile. He gave her a salute and disappeared through the door. He rushed through the garden and into the TARDIS, the doors closing behind him. John was at the console, giving it a quick study. The Doctor gestured. "The controls are basically the same."

John grinned and entered the coordinates for his lab. He put a hand on the main control lever. Looking to the Doctor, he got the go-ahead. He yanked on the lever. "Away we go!"


	5. I

**I**

Oken paced in his lair. His computer was adding his solutions based on the data from the last test. The energies from his universe, the void beyond and the universe beyond were beginning to mix. At first there was instability, the particles from the different universes annihilating once they were among the particles from the void. His solutions would result in a stable bridge that would, in effect, span the gap of the endless void and connect his universe to the other. Once that was completed, he could cross to the other side.

He passed in front of a large slate board that was festooned with a complex equation. It was his masterpiece, his scripture. He had solved pieces of it, the resulting answers granting him the ability to assemble his machine. The final piece was coming together. Its solutions were wondrous; conduits of time completely separate from normal space-time; a dimension outside the third dimension, a wormhole that would enable him to traverse the ages. He would arrive in his new home during a pre-modern era. His intellect and inventions would grant him the ability to rule the world. There would be no one capable of comprehending his power much less stop it. His victory was assured.

And then Cyber One returned with the remains of his security detail.

Whatever they had encountered had destroyed them utterly and managed to leave no trace. The unknown variable distressed him as all unknown variables did. He was pacing to stave off the nervous energy and to try and corral the volcano of anger dwelling in his mind. He suspected UNIT was behind this insult, particularly the mysterious Doctor Smith. But why not continue to incur on his domain? Why only probe his defenses? Was it to taunt him? Was it a game?

His computer chimed, sounding like an egg timer. He dashed to the screen and read the results. His eyes grew as wide as a maniacal smile spread across his face. He had it! The final solution was revealed! With only a few modifications his machine would finally pierce the veil and he could ascend from this dismal place where true genius was cast aside in favor of the flashy and dashing.

"I have done it!" Oken exclaimed into the dank semi-darkness. "The conduits of time are mine! Cyber One!"

Behind him, the drone stomped where he could be seen, "Awaiting orders."

"Begin siphoning power and prepare the legion. It is time to implement the Final Solution."

"It will be done," Cyber One said as it turned and marched away.

Nearby in an abandoned ironworks, hundreds of Cyber Drones stood dormant. Not as flashy or even complete as their counterparts they were regulated to manual labor moving only when put to task. There was a sudden surge of energy. The lights in their eyes began to glow. They immediately set about their assigned tasks, heating up the kilns and blast furnaces. With a rumble the mill came alive.

**Ever After**

The TARDIS materialized inside John's lab. The door opened and John burst out, skidding to a stop at his "desk". He moved around the different consoles, activating the computers one by one before snatching up a remote and starting the machines on the periphery. Rushing to a drawing table he shoved aside bits and pieces of projects-in-progress and dropped a vise in their place. Taking the head from the Doctor, who had arrived behind him, he set it in the vise and secured it tightly.

John stepped back and snatched up a loaded tool belt from its place on a hook mounted to the table. He put it on, buckling it with a flourish. He pulled on his glasses and slowly leaned in close to the head. "Right, let's get a proper look at you." He rotated the head so that he was looking into it via its neck and aimed his buzzing torch into the void. "The circuitry is very intricate. The wiring, complex but every motherboard has a vital weakness." He glanced toward the Doctor as he pulled a tool from his belt. Holding up a drill he pressed the trigger twice. "They all screw in somehow."

He jabbed the driver into the head and slowly removed two long screws. After replacing the drill on his belt he went at the head with a pair of rubberized tweezers. The tip of his tongue touching his upper lip, he pulled the motherboard out and carefully removed the attached wires. He held up the board where he and the Doctor could see, noting its construction. There were few components but an extraordinary amount of circuit pathways. He scowled, adjusting his glasses.

The Doctor scanned the board using his sonic. Holding it up, he checked his findings. "It's artificial intelligence or close to it. Doesn't appear to have anything resembling consciousness," he scanned it again. "The number of pathways and connections suggests that it can learn and evolve somewhat but it won't be contemplating Socrates anytime soon. Was there a Socrates on this side?"

"Yes," John said. "He took the board over to another area of the room and set it atop an easel-like platform. He pressed a switch and it lit a dull blue. A brilliant white light moved behind the board, indicating a scan of some sort. A screen set off to one side displayed the results. John entered a command and waited a few moments before the results came back. "I knew it." He ran to the center consoles. "I have to call someone else in on this part." He pressed a button. "Hello, yes this is Doctor Smith. I need some assistance please." To the Doctor he said. "Get the psychic paper handy."

The door opened and a soldier entered. He snapped to attention but tensed realizing they were not alone, "Sir!"

"Yes, I understand protocol and whatnot, but this gentleman is from Sector 7 of MI-6 codename 'the Doctor'. His clearance is appropriate." John gestured to the Doctor. "Show him your credentials."

The Doctor held up the psychic paper where the soldier could see it. "That's right; MI-6 good old Sector 7 where things happen that would blow your mind. That's why we have to wear funny hats. We too are investigating the weather and the blackouts and we've come by a device that your good Doctor Smith has been assisting us with and now he needs…"

"I need access to Doctor Ansell Oken's records," John said.

"Understood sir," the soldier said. He nodded to the Doctor. "It is an honor, sir." He turned on his heel and rushed out.

John turned to the Doctor, a curious look on his face. "Who did he think you were?"

The Doctor turned the paper around. "Apparently he thinks I'm an agent named James Bond who has multiple devices for valor."

John laughed. "Yes, well it's a good thing the suave MI-6 spy on this side is the debonair Alistair Breckenridge."

"Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Bond, James Bond," the Doctor said.

"Doesn't hit the ear the same either," John said. His computer chimed. "There we go." He went to the closest center console began typing. "This is going to take a while."

The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver and transferred the files into the TARDIS' computer. "That should help. What are we looking for?"

"The motherboard we have is hodgepodge," John said, "but it is Oken's design, I'm sure of it. He was the chap who used to occupy this space; brilliant scientist but more than a bit unstable. He was working on something like this before his departure. We just need to compare designs to confirm."

"After you Doctor," the Doctor said before following him into the TARDIS. "While you search for your match I can have a look at what else the good Doctor Oken was into."

They each took a panel and set to work. The Doctor on one side, John on the other. They were quiet for a few minutes before John took a breath. "I couldn't help but notice that you came here alone."

"No, Jenny and the Executor," the Doctor said.

"Yes, but they traveled together," John said. "No companion?"

"I do have a companion of sorts," the Doctor said. "Clara Oswald." He smiled, "My impossible girl."

"Oswald? That sounds familiar," said John.

"It should, she's been a specter in our lives since the beginning," the Doctor said, "even more so now."

"Who is she?" John asked.

"She's complicated," the Doctor said. "Do you remember a small asteroid outpost in the eightieth century sometime, just on the warm side of Pluto?"

"Yes we ran into a rouge platoon of Ice Warriors there," John said. "It got pretty hairy but then this woman appeared and pointed out the loose wire in the station's transporter systems that prevented us from singling them out. If it wasn't for her we would have lost the entire station and everyone on it." He paused. "Are you saying that's her?"

"In one version, yes," the Doctor said.

John frowned, "One version? Well who is she now?"

"She was a nanny but recently got a teaching post," the Doctor said. "It's been a while since I've seen her, I really should stop by."

"She doesn't travel all the time?" asked John.

The Doctor paused in his work. "I find it's safer that way."

"Yes but this is another universe, an alternate Earth with alternate people," John said. "There's me and Rose, why wouldn't you bring her?" He remembered the Executor. "Is it because of him?"

"No, it's because of me," the Doctor said. "I've acquired and lost a great deal in the time since I last saw you. Donna was just the start."

"Donna," John said ruefully. "I knew what had to happen the moment I saw what she became." He looked down at the panel. "How did it end?"

"I went back," the Doctor said. "I went to her the night she… I gave it back to her. All of it."

John nodded, "And the others?"

The Doctor stepped back from the panel looking into the past. "Amy, Rory," he paused to collect himself, "River."

"River," John said with a frown. "River Song from The Library?"

The Doctor nodded sadly.

"We lost her the day we met her," John said.

"I found her again," the Doctor said. "Then I lost her… again. I lost them all." He sniffed. "Clara will be different. Whatever this is, it will not be the end of her."

"Nor shall it be for my family," John said. He glanced at the viewing screen. "Ha, got it!" He shoved the screen around to where the Doctor could see it. "Here it is! Our board was just like one that Oken developed for UNIT's drone program. He wanted to give them enough artificial intelligence to run on their own with limited sentience and a hive mentality."

"I sense a 'but' coming," the Doctor said.

"Well imagine thinking robots armed with lethal weapons and live ammunition flying over Great Britain," John said. "One malfunction, a misplaced decimal and they could achieve self-awareness."

"Wackiness would ensue," the Doctor surmised. "The project was scrapped?"

"All of his projects eventually," John said. "He had a meltdown. Command had to sack him and, because of his brilliance, he was under surveillance for some time before he was deemed non-threatening."

"Where is he now?" the Doctor asked.

John raised his eyebrows, "Hopefully fishing in the Caribbean?"

"Not likely," said the Doctor. He set the TARDIS to search for all records of Doctor Oken. "So what's it like?"

"What?" John asked flipping switches.

"Home, family, a proper life," the Doctor clarified.

"It's everything," John said, still working. "It's all things."

"Do you miss it, wandering the stars, getting into adventures?" the Doctor asked.

John paused, "Sometimes," he started working again, "more so recently. Life with Rose has its triumphs but they're smaller, not as… well not like before."

"Any regrets?" asked the Doctor.

John stopped working and looked inward. He opened his mouth to answer when an alarm began to chime. His head snapped toward the view screen as information began to scroll across. "The TARDIS is picking up another disturbance. This one is big!"

"Where?" asked the Doctor.

"Over the city," John said. He sprinted around to the other side of the console while the Doctor took up the flight controls. "The power grid is showing complete failure."

"Another blackout?" asked the Doctor.

John's eyes went wide, "The entire UK. We need to go."

"On our way," the Doctor said as he pulled the main control lever.

**Ever After**

Rose and the Samaritan arrived at the menswear shop among a small cluster of sidewalk shops near Piccadilly Circus. Rose had contacted her mother Jackie to mind the sleeping children while she and her two new Time Lord friends had gone in search of proper attire for the Executor. They had left the ancient man from Gallifrey to get sorted while they went browsing on their own. The Samaritan had purchased a few items. Rose was treating herself to a cup of ice cream.

"So how long were you with him before you were… _with_ him?" Rose asked.

"I think it was around year fifteen that I started to notice him more," the Samaritan said.

"That's a bloody long time," Rose said, shocked.

"We've been romantic for ten years," the Samaritan said.

"So it was another five before you did anything about it?" Rose asked; her shock increasing.

The Samaritan shrugged. "I didn't think he would see me like that, honestly. Dad had charged him with my care; to raise me to be a proper Time Lord. He's over three thousand years old, what would someone like that see in me? Plus there was the Sojourner."

"Who?"

The women took a seat on a bench. The Samaritan continued, "There was a woman, a Time Lord woman who he loved very much. He lost her during the war. He and Dad fell through a sort of rift in the Time Vortex and he was able to see her again."

"I suppose that's the problem with time travel," Rose said. "The ex is never really gone."

"I didn't want to intrude on that," the Samaritan agreed, "but, one day I decided to make it known how I felt about him. He surprised me by confessing his own attachment."

"You make it sound so cold," Rose said.

The Samaritan shook her head. "You misunderstand. I love him and I know he loves me. He's told me once or twice."

"Once or twice in ten years?" asked Rose.

"It's different for us," said the Samaritan. "When you travel in time, things can change. Time gets rewritten and words can be erased. What's important is that I feel loved. He doesn't have to tell me what is so obvious."

Rose thought about it and compared it to her relationship with the Doctor and then John. "No, I don't suppose he would."

"Is this better?"

The ladies looked up and found the Executor exiting the shop. He was wearing a burgundy suit with a long jacket that hugged his form. The inside of the coat was the color of bronze. His shirt was a lighter shade of red with a banded collar that buttoned at his throat. His holster was gone and there were shiny black dress boots with thick soles on his feet. He gave his companions an uncertain smile.

"You blend well," Rose said, admiring his clothes.

"Oh yeah," said the Samaritan, eyeing him intently. "We are definitely shopping more."

There was a massive peal of thunder that shook the air and shattered storefronts and car windows around them. Bolts of lightning wide enough to nearly fill the sky turned night into day as they streaked across the heavens. Every light around them blinked out in an instant. People screamed and cowered, running in all directions.

The Executor drew a maverick from the inside of his coat and aimed it at the sky. The device chirped three times before giving him the bad news. "It's happening again. The readings are off the scale."

"We need to get out of here." Rose started toward her car.

"Leave it," the Executor said.

"I have to get to my children," Rose explained.

"Your car is too slow." The Executor and the Samaritan rushed toward an idling double-decker bus with Rose in tow.

She climbed on the bus. "It's going to be way faster than this." Inside, the bus disappeared and she was somewhere else. She turned, finding herself aboard the Executor's TARDIS. She looked around the unfamiliar ship, her mouth agape. Turning back round she found the Executor climbing into his seat, the Samaritan already at work at her station.

"We came here in my car," Rose said.

"The TARDIS follows him everywhere," the Samaritan explained. "It's like a puppy that way."

"Get hold of the Doctor," the Executor said as he put the craft in flight.

A large semi-transparent screen appeared in front of the two stations showing the Doctor and John.

"Ahoy there!" said the Doctor. "I take it things are not well?"

"The fabric of reality is tearing, Doctor," the Executor said.

"We're above it now," replied the Doctor.

"Got it!" John exclaimed. "The blackouts aren't standard. It's not a failing of the grid; the power is being sucked from the grid to one area. I have the location and I'm transmitting it to UNIT with a Level One Priority. They'll be mobilizing in the next five minutes."

"Where is the power going?" asked the Samaritan.

"Not too far from where you encountered the false Cybermen," John said.

"Can UNIT handle the robots?" the Executor asked.

"Cybermen are their specialty," John said. "They should be fine. Where's Rose?"

"Here," Rose said, stepping where her husband could see. "Car might be a loss dear."

"Long as you're not," John said.

"We're going to drop her off home then head to the source," the Executor said. "Capable or no, UNIT will need our help."

"Right, we'll see about sealing this rift and then join you," John said.

"Having fun are we?" asked Rose.

John grinned and leered at her, "Well, just a little."

"Be careful," Rose said firmly. The TARDIS shuddered as they landed, "Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"My mandate still stands," Rose warned.

The Doctor threw her a salute, "Yes mum."

Rose left the TARDIS and entered her backyard. She turned to find it had assumed the form of a pink playhouse. It slowly disappeared, whipping up a familiar wind despite the alien sound of its engines. She turned and headed into the house where she could see her mother waiting with a frightened look on her face.

**Ever After**

Rugged black trucks sped through the dark streets of London and converged on the abandoned industrial area. Bouncing over the unpaved rut-ridden roads they skidded to a stop where the Executor and the Samaritan had encountered the Cyber Drones. The doors opened and troops deployed dressed in dark blue and carrying heavy weapons. Their gray-haired and square-jawed commander marched among them; his arms clasped behind his back a pistol on his hip. These were the coordinates sent by Doctor Smith. Sensors on the truck were redlined indicating that something was definitely happening in their area.

The skies were ominous, clouds beginning to form and the giant bolts of lightning growing in frequency and power. Soon they would follow the natural course to the ground. Destruction and loss of life were a given. The situation needed to be brought under control. His second, carrying a handheld sensor, pointed toward a dilapidated factory.

"I want that area secured immediately and a perimeter established," the commander said. He squinted slightly as the sky lit white again.

The troops pried open a door and rushed inside. Priming their weapons, they fanned out in tight squads sweeping for any sign of the source of the disturbance. The commander strode in the middle of everything, aiming a light inside the dark building. While all appeared normal, he could feel the aberration in his bones.

"Steady men," he called. "Whatever this is, it's here."

"Intruders detected!"

From his vantage point it appeared that the areas above him was filled with stars. Blue lights blazed to life and the sound of metal feet marching dominated his senses. Turning, he saw the lights were everywhere.

"Contact!"

"They're Cybermen!"

"On the left!"

"We have them here!"

"We're surrounded!"

The lights were joined by blasts of destructive light and the muzzle flashes of his men as they entered into battle. Then there were screams as his men began to fall. The commander drew his pistol and held it up unsure where to aim first.

**Ever After**

Above the rift, the TARDIS buffeted back and forth, the Doctor and Doctor Smith doing their best to keep it steady and find a means of sealing the tear. They raced around the console running different algorithms and testing hypotheses. The stress on the craft was evident, steam vented from the floor, warning lights flashed, alarm bells rang incessantly.

"We could try particle smashing," John suggested.

"The black hole would have to be big enough to swallow the Earth in order to seal the tear," the Doctor said. "What about reversing the polarity?"

"It's drawing everything in," John said. "If we reversed it, whatever is in there would come spilling out. Among the unknown things, all those Daleks and the Cybermen from Canary Warf would spew into this world and we'd have bigger problems." He pressed a few buttons as the TARDIS pitched and threatened to throw him to the floor. "What about a matter/anti-matter infusion at the source of the breach?"

"Annihilation?" the Doctor said. He thought about it. "That might work."

"The Executor and the Samaritan are on their way there now," John said.

"Neither of them knows how to do something like that," the Doctor said.

"It's dropping a bomb," John said, "that's all the Executor knows how to do."

"If we did it that way," the Doctor said. "It would be messy, though."

"What choice do we have?" John asked.

The Doctor slapped a switch on the console. There was a blast of sparks and then a portion of the panel went dark, "Uh-oh."

"What?" John said, "What uh-oh, no uh-oh."

"The communicator is fried," said the Doctor. "Hang on." He turned and ran to the doors. Throwing open the one on the left, he reached inside the small cupboard on the other door and retrieved the handset for the phone. "Hello, Executor!"

"Yes Dad?" answered the Samaritan.

"Put me on speaker, I need to speak to my son-in-law!" yelled the Doctor over the din.

"You _are_ on speaker," the Executor replied, "and we're not married."

"That wasn't a request! I need for you to create a matter/anti-matter bomb and drop it at the source of all of this," the Doctor said.

"Good idea. There's just one problem," the Executor said.

**Ever After**

Aboard the other TARDIS, the Executor was fighting the controls. They were nearly at the source. The disturbances in reality were disrupting the TARDIS' navigation and preventing it from getting close enough to land. Gritting his teeth, the Executor kicked at the levers at his feet and goosed the throttle at his right hand, riding the edges of the fluctuations as best he could.

"We can't get close," he said. "The breaks in reality won't allow us to land. UNIT is already there and they're under attack. It doesn't sound good."

"Dad, they're getting slaughtered," the Samaritan said.

"Okay new plan," the Doctor said. "We'll handle the source, you help UNIT."

"Understood!" replied the Executor. He started to turn the TARDIS.

"What are you doing?" asked the Samaritan.

"We have to land farther away," the Executor said. "There's no way to breach these rifts in three-dimensional space."

The Samaritan looked to her console, a theory popping into her head. Her fingers flew across the board, running the numbers. "Wait, I'm going to try something."

"Where'd my engineering panel go?" the Executor asked.

"I have it," the Samaritan said. "I'm activating the Vortex Drives."

"What?" the Executor exclaimed. "We don't know if there's a Time Vortex on this side."

"Time and space exist and act the same as in our universe," the Samaritan said. "All the data I just ran suggests that a fourth dimension exists here that could be comparable to our Time Vortex."

"If you're wrong, turning on those drives could blow a hole in this universe and kill everyone down there!" the Executor said.

"By the time we get far enough away to land, those men _will_ be dead and there _is_ a hole in this universe," the Samaritan said. "The math is solid."

The Executor threw a wary look at her. He shook his head. "After thirty years I've learned arguing with you is useless. You're too much like your father." He gripped the controls. "All right, let's get it done!" He kicked the pedal at his left foot and twisted the throttle.

**Ever After**

"Okay with them helping UNIT our matter/antimatter plan is out. Let's say we had a plan, how are we going to get close enough to the source to stop it?" John asked.

The Doctor moved around the console flipping switches. "Coming out of that tear are void particles. We can collect them and form a force field of energy around the TARDIS."

"Oh!" John exclaimed. "Brilliant! We drop through the rift and come out at the source." He moved around the other side completing the work. "That's if we don't get torn to pieces flying through The Void."

"You could get off?" the Doctor suggested.

"Not a chance," John countered with a grin. "What do we do when we get there?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No idea. Ready?"

John punched a button, "_Allons-y_!"

The Doctor yanked on the main control lever, "Geronimo!"

Outside, the TARDIS blazed white and shot straight down where it was seemingly swallowed by nothing.

**Ever After**

The once stoic commander of the UNIT forces huddled behind a pile of brick and metal rubble, a wounded soldier cradled in an arm. His ammunition was getting low. The Cybermen were closing in. His forces were nearly overrun. They still fought with honor. He could hear them giving the machines hell. Their last stand would be their finest hour. Too bad no one would know about it.

Carefully loading his last magazine into his pistol, he prepared for the final onslaught. He would take as many as he could before the end. Cybermen did not know respect. They were about to learn it. He went to rise from cover but paused hearing a strange repetitive whooshing noise. Looking around he saw a door appear in a ruined wall. What the devil was that?

The door opened and a dapper-dressed man appeared followed by a biker woman. The man's face was set and determined, his eyes glinting like a predator. The woman was equally determined though sporting a half-smirk on her face. They reached inside their coats and drew strange objects from hidden places the man brandishing two, the woman; one. The objects, looking like futuristic torches, changed; appearing to be strange firearms of some type.

The Executor and the Samaritan looked over the battlefield at the UNIT soldiers and the Cyber Drones. "Help them, I'll flank the main force," the Executor said.

"Understood," said the Samaritan.

The Executor strode around the fringe of the fight, shooting down Cyber Drones that were too close or that had moved to engage. One stepped from the shadows and took a swing at him. He ducked under its arm and fired into its exposed side twice before kicking it aside before side-stepping a shot at him and rapid-firing towards his attacker. A damaged Cyber Drone, lying on the ground, tried to grab at him. He casually blasted a hole in its head and moved on.

The UNIT Commander watched with shock and awe on his face. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was he helping them?

"Don't mind him," the Samaritan said from beside him. "He's just showing off. I am called the Samaritan. I'm here to help. What do you need?"

The Commander swallowed, still unsure. "They're decimating our left flank. My men are cut off."

"We'll need to regroup then," said the Samaritan. "After we can mount a counter-assault and repel this force."

"Y-yes," said the Commander.

"What is your name?" asked the Samaritan.

"Barnes," the Commander said. "Colonel Montague Barnes."

"I'll need some cover if I'm going to get over there," the Samaritan said. "Help the Executor keep the front force occupied for a few moments."

Barnes readied his pistol. "On your go."

"Now's good," the Samaritan said. She sprinted from cover earning the attention of the advancing Cyber Drones.

Barnes rose from protection and opened fire, making himself the immediate threat. Ducking down again he watched the woman navigate the danger with the grace of a gazelle, leaping and rolling, vaulting and somersaulting until coming out of a complicated tumble with her weapon raised.

Sheets of blue light lanced from her destroying the flanking Cyber Drones. Their back to her, they were caught completely off-guard. Before any of them could turn and engage she had halved their number and reached their ranks.

Taking to the air, she somersaulted over the closest Cyber Drone taking it by a control rod on its head and pulling it off-balance. It fell with her, taking shot after shot from its comrades. As her boots hit the floor she was already returning fire, taking out the rest of the metal monstrosities and joining the few men there.

Barnes was in shock yet again. Just who were these people? Before he could ponder another question; his left flank suddenly opened up on the Cyber Drones advancing from their front. Yelling like men possessed, they emerged from cover and moved toward him, destroying the bulk of the advancing force and making the fight far more manageable. Among the howling commandos was the biker woman, lending her efforts with a smile.

"Sir, awaiting orders!" one of the men said.

Barnes regained his stoicism. "Right then lads, let's show these tin soldiers what UNIT men are made of!"

**Ever After**

Inside Oken's sanctum the air was charged with ozone. Bolts of electricity crackled and lanced in every direction emanating from a single point in front of his beautiful machine. The energy levels were nearing optimum. A few more minutes and the trans-universal bridge would form.

There was a loud thunderclap and a blast of blinding light and then a blue police box erupted from the breach, thudding onto the metal floor. After a moment, the doors opened revealing John and the Doctor. They looked out onto the laboratory with similar expressions of horror and awe.

"This is…" John began.

"Yes," finished the Doctor.

John looked at the machine. "He's built a void engine!"

"But he doesn't have the proper containment system in place," the Doctor said. "Once it fires, everything in this room will be shunted through. Nothing will survive the trip."

"Right, so we shut it down," John said. He looked through the haze of charged ozone and bolts of lightning. "There seems to be an instrument panel on the far side. It's gotta have an 'off' switch."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and tossed John his sonic screwdriver. "You look for the switch. I'll go see about cutting the power."

John held up the sonic and examined it, "Full psychic interface?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied.

"Brilliant," John said with a grin. He turned and ran off.

The Doctor hurried along the far side of the machine. He jumped over a jumble of large cables and turned to kneel. He placed his hands on the large wires but could not sense any current. Moving on he came to the rear of the machine and found a cable six feet in diameter. He pulled up and bobbed his head to one side wearing a conceding expression.

"Power source," he said. "Time to cut the cord," he said as he reached into his jacket. Finding his pocket empty, he remembered he was without his usual solution. Picking up a large piece of metal he threw it at the cable. It caromed off an invisible barrier and embedded itself into the brick wall behind him.

The Doctor rubbed his thumbs against his fingers, "Right, massive amount of electricity equals massive electromagnetic field." His mind racing, he considered his options. Turning he saw a long piece of ruined metal with a jagged end, a spool of discarded wire and a length of chain. A smile broke out on his face.

On the other side, John leaped over a railing and sprinted along the slippery floor before sliding to a stop in front of two towering Cyber Drones. The robots registered his presence and raised their arms taking aim. Remembering he had the screwdriver, John pointed it at them, the tip flickering, buzzing sound a pathetic warble.

"Oh, come on, it's me!" He slapped at the screwdriver and aimed it again. "Deactivate! Shut down! Power off!" The screwdriver increased its strength.

"Destroy the intruder!"

"Turn together!" John yelled. The Cyber Drones suddenly faced each other and opened fire, their heads exploding, bodies collapsing in a heap. John looked at the screwdriver and cocked an eyebrow. "That'll do."

He continued on, vaulting a railing and running up a short flight of steps to the void engine's console. There he found Oken at the controls. The diminutive scientist turned toward him and grinned evilly.

"Ah, John. I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you."

"Ansell you've got to stop this!" John said. "You've no idea what you're doing!"

"Of course, because the great Doctor John Smith did not think of it himself I cannot possibly know what it is I am doing." Oken scoffed, "If I might use one of your many annoying catchphrases; ha! I know precisely what I am doing. My machine is rending the fabric of time and space and bridging the void beyond to a new universe; a universe where I will be revered."

"This technology already exists on the other side," John said. "It is understood and kept under lock and key. They'll never let you use it."

"Correct," Oken said. "That is why I will traverse time itself and emerge where my genius would be considered divine. Man of Science is too small a title for someone of my skills. I will become a god! My drones shall be my emissaries through which I shall impose my will." He turned and gestured to the slate bearing the equation. "Behold Doctor Smith. Behold my work and despair!"

John looked past him to the slate board in the flickering light. His jaw dropped, unable to believe. It was the fundamental principles taught to him at the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey. It was the key to traveling through time and space. How did Oken come by it? He looked back to the mad scientist.

"Doctor Oken think, just think," John said. "You're missing key components. There is no shielding, no dimensional encapsulation. You will rip apart this universe and destroy everything in it."

"Don't you dare presume to understand my work!" Oken screamed, spittle flying. "I know what is missing and I know what my crossing will do. I don't care! This world is of no use to me any longer. I cast it aside like the trash that inhabits it."

"Please Ansell," John said. He raised the screwdriver. "Stop this or I will _stop_ you."

"You can't, Doctor," Oken said. "Power levels are at one hundred percent. A simple press of a button and my triumph is assured!"

On the other side, the Doctor finished rigging his device. Wrapping the wire around the jagged piece of metal would serve to insulate it. It would achieve the polar opposite of the magnetic field on contact and be drawn to the cable. Attaching the chain to the end of the metal and a piece of rebar jutting from the floor would ground the cable and drain the engine's power.

The Doctor stepped as far back as he dared and hefted the heavy contraption. Spitting on both his palms, he rubbed them together before gripping his makeshift spear and hurling it as hard as he could. There was a flash of lightning and a huge crack of thunder as the spear hit the magnetic field. It accelerated suddenly and pierced the cable. Electricity shot down the chain and struck the rebar as it went to ground.

At the console, the machine shuddered suddenly and sparks began to fly driving Oken back. John seized the moment and aimed the screwdriver. The prongs extended and every light on the console went red. Oken reappeared and jabbed at the activation switch. When nothing happened he pounded at it.

"What have you done?" he screamed.

"Canceling your electric," John said. "In addition, I just locked out the controls." He scanned the engine. "Judging from the knocking noise I would say that a feedback loop has been established which would cause the trans-universal rupture to appear within the engine itself…" He considered the ramifications. "We need to…"

"Run!" the Doctor yelled as he sprinted by.

John jumped down from the console and took a few steps before turning and spotting Oken working fruitlessly at the console. "Ansell it's no use! The controls are deadlocked you cannot stop it!"

Oken did not move, "My machine, my beautiful machine!"

The Doctor burst through the doors of the TARDIS. He looked outside and saw John yelling at Oken. "John we have to go! John! Doctor!"

John heard his names being yelled and reluctantly turned and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS.

**Ever After**

Still engaged in heated battle, the tide had turned to the side of UNIT. The biker woman and her dapper friend had been the equalizer and now the Cybermen were falling and falling back. Barnes and his men cheered their impending victory. Their battle cry was interrupted by a tremor that shook the building.

The Samaritan looked around seeing clouds of dust falling from the eaves and splintered windows finally shatter. "Something tells me this is my father's doing."

Tendrils of energy sparked and traveled along every metal surface including the Cybermen. The resulting jolt caused them to short-circuit and collapse. The Executor nodded. "We need to leave. Everyone, follow me!"

"We have the enemy on the run," Barnes said. "The field is ours."

The Samaritan ran toward the TARDIS. "The field is not going to be here much longer."

The Executor reached the TARDIS and opened the door. The remaining troops filed in after him, stopping short at the revelation that a perceived door to nowhere was anything but. The Samaritan and Barnes were the last inside, the Samaritan closing the door.

"Now see here, I am not in the habit of retreating from victory!" Barnes said. He halted his protest, slack-jawed, when he realized where he was. "What in the name of…"

"You wanna hang onto something!" the Executor called from his seat. Kicking the TARDIS into gear the ship shifted suddenly pitching anyone not ready to the floor. The Executor called up his sensors and discovered what was happening. "Can't do anything small, can you Doctor?"

**Ever After**

A building a few miles away suddenly grew a maintenance shed on its roof. The door opened and the bewildered UNIT troops along with Barnes stumbled out, turning and staring back at the TARDIS. Their bearing and decorum lost, they milled around like wonderstruck children. The Executor and the Samaritan exited and turned toward the light show in the distance.

Jagged streaks of light split the sky like shattered glass. A dome of darkness emerged from the abandoned structure, swallowing it into oblivion. Bolts of lightning shot from the blackness up into the night. The dome began to grow, expanding and swallowing more buildings. Soon it would run out of vacant structures to consume.

"Dad," the Samaritan breathed.

There was a large flash of light and a plume of smoke arced from the center of the dome, high into the air. The Samaritan and the Executor followed its flight with their eyes, watching as it soared higher and higher before tumbling and falling toward their position. The object at the heart of the smoke whistled like a falling bomb.

"Take cover!" Barnes yelled, he and the soldiers running toward the TARDIS but afraid to enter.

Looking up the Executor managed to smile. "He doesn't know about the Time Vortex?"

Her stance and expression the same as his, the Samaritan answered, "I don't think so."

The sound of the two Doctors yelling could be heard as their TARDIS slammed down to the roof kicking up a cloud of dust. It was covered in masonry having flown straight up through the ceiling of Oken's lair and the factory above. Lights flashed behind the windows of the ancient craft.

The door opened and John stumbled out, coughing and rubbing at his head. He leaned against the TARDIS and grimaced. "At what point did he forget how to fly?"

The Doctor appeared equally battered. "I got us out didn't I?"

The Samaritan laughed and gave them a hug.


	6. S

**S**

"There, that should do it," the Doctor said, tucking his handkerchief into the pocket of his waistcoat. He climbed down from the top of the TARDIS after having repaired the dome light. "A bit dinged up, but she's a tough old bird."

He and the others were in the backyard of the Smith home. The rupture had collapsed on itself, taking Oken and his Cyber Drones with it. UNIT would be combing through the wreckage for months trying to make sense of it. John would be the on-site supervisor. He would see that whatever was salvageable would be salvaged and that the equation would never be found.

The weather anomalies were a direct result of Oken's work. With him gone all was returning to normal. It was a sunny day and the temperature perfect for a causal garden party. John stood watch at the grill while Rose minded the kids inside the Doctor's TARDIS. Sarah Jane and Adric were over the moon at the sight of the blue box that featured so prominently in their bedtime stories. Amid a chorus of laughter they erupted from the TARDIS, running around it just to make sure they had not been mistaken.

"Dad, there's a pool and a video arcade and a petting zoo in there!" Adric exclaimed.

"There's also a princess palace with a real moat and drawbridge!" Sarah Jane squealed.

"When'd you put that in?" Rose asked appearing at the doors.

"An hour ago," said the Doctor. He joined John at the grill. "You're certain of what you saw."

"It was there line for line," John said. "Oken was brilliant but only by human standards. How did he figure it?"

The Doctor frowned. "I don't know. I've seen it on my side as well in places where it should not be. I'll look into it." He gave John a look. John nodded.

"I know that face," Rose said stepping between the two men, "time to be off then?"

The Doctor gave her an apologetic grin, "You know me. One place too long and…" He made a mad face. "Besides, all is well over here. We need to make sure nothing happened on our side."

"So the rift will seal and that'll be that?" Rose asked.

"Yes, but the TARDIS managed to scan Oken's machine and create a more efficient, less destructive void engine."

"So you can cross whenever you like?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Jumping universes is not something to be done lightly. More like a 'just in case'." He looked to the Executor and the Samaritan. "I sent the schematics to your TARDIS as well."

"Handy," the Executor said, "but we won't need it."

"What?" John asked, turning from his cooking.

"It's a new universe," the Executor said. "New stars new galaxies; new everything. How can we pass that up? Besides, it's quite obvious this side will need protecting."

"And who better than The Time Lord Merciless?" John asked sarcastically.

"Don't worry, he'll have The Time Lord Benevolent to keep him in line," said the Doctor. He smiled on his daughter. "I've been checking up on you and I have to say that I am very, very proud."

"I had help," the Samaritan said.

"Not with him you didn't," the Doctor said. He stepped over and shook the Executor's hand. "He's a new man; a worthy man."

The Executor nodded. "Glad you think so."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and produced a sonic screwdriver. It was gray with a black tip and a red bulb. "If you're going to be this universe's protector, you'll need this."

The Executor took the device and frowned. "This is like the sonic you carried during the war."

"It _is_ the sonic I carried during the war," the Doctor said. "Now, it's yours." He turned to the Smiths. "It has been an honor."

John stepped over and shook his hand, "Doctor."

"Doctor Smith," the Doctor replied. He accepted a hug from Rose. "Ah, Rose Tyler."

"That's Mrs. Smith to you Bowtie," Rose said with a smile.

The Samaritan was the next to offer a hug. "Be careful, Dad."

"And you Jenny," the Doctor said. He nodded to the Executor. "Keep her safe."

"With my life," the Executor replied. He bowed. "Hail to the Doctor, Last of the Time Lords."

The Doctor gave him a salute and stepped into the TARDIS. The engines whined to life and the craft disappeared to the delight of the two children in attendance. They ran over to the newly-empty patch of grass and touched where the box had been.

"I suppose it's your turn now," John said to the remaining Time Lords.

"Take care, you two," Rose said as she hugged the Samaritan.

"It's a big universe," the Samaritan said, "but we'll make sure to pop in every now and then; with gifts for the kids of course."

"Although I never know what to get children," the Executor said, accepting a hug from Rose. "Maybe you could come with and help me pick something out? What do you say John? Fancy a trip around the stars?"

John looked at the tool shed that wasn't and thought about the breadth of time and space being his playground once again. He placed his arm around Rose and his hands on the head of his children. "It is tempting but, if blazing around time and space means leaving them, I don't want to go."

"Understood," the Executor said. He bowed slightly, "Lord Doctor."

"Doctor Smith is just fine," John said with an answering bow, "Lord Executor." He bowed to the Samaritan, "Lord Samaritan."

"Jenny is just fine… Dad," the Samaritan said. She turned and followed the Executor into the shed. A few moments later, they were off.

**Ever After**

The Doctor checked his view screen and found he was back in his own universe. Shoving the screen away, he set a course for Earth and yanked on the main control lever. Moving over two panels he tried the communicator but found that it was still fried. Making a wry face he walked past his chair where the head of the Cyber Drone still sat and went to the doors.

Sticking out a hand he retrieved the phone and put it to his ear. He turned and walked back to the console, the wire stretching behind him. Adjusting the TARDIS' flight he leaned on the panel. "Hello, Coal Hill School? Yes I'd like to leave a message for one of your English teachers a Miss Clara Oswald. Yes, tell her it's from the Doctor. Tell her I'd very much like my motorbike back. Yes I'll give you the address."


	7. Doctor Who?

**Doctor Who?**

In the basement of a clock tower in a town called Christmas on a planet named Trenzalore…

_You've been asking a question, and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name… His name is the Doctor; all the name he needs. Everything you need to know about him. And if you love him, and you should, help him. Help him…_

There was a grating whump. Clara turned and found the crack had vanished. She rushed over to the wall and knelt, feeling where the fault had been and finding nothing. What had happened? Had they heard? Did they care?

"Clara."

Clara gasped, turning toward the sound of her name. She stood slowly finding the speaker. It was a man, a bearded man with dark skin; tall and imposing. He was wearing flowing red and gold robes and a hood. Dreadlocked hair hung down to his chest. He looked distinguished but his eyes, they were like those of a jungle cat, and they bored into her.

"Who are you?" Clara asked, fearful.

"You don't know me. I am a Time Lord. I am called the Executor."

Clara's eyes darted around the room. "I thought there'd be more of you."

The Executor smiled. "There are. A whole planet in fact and I'm not there with you. Not really. I'm still on Gallifrey, speaking to you via pan-dimensional psychic link."

"What's the roaming on that kind of call?" Clara asked. She shook her head. "Listen, he's up there and he needs help. There are Daleks and he's dying and…"

"I know," the Executor said, interrupting her. "We know."

"Will you help him?" Clara pleaded.

"Of course," the Executor said calmly. "But he's going to need your help too. New regeneration cycles can be a bit tricky."

"You sound like him," Clara said.

"I'll thank you never to repeat that," the Executor said with a smile. He looked up the stairs, his eyes beginning to glow. "It starts." He looked back to Clara. "When it's over, tell him we miss him. Tell him Jenny and I will set a place for him… right next to his grandchildren."

"Grandchildren?" asked Clara. The Executor disappeared. Clara turned and ran up the steps…

**The **

**End**


End file.
